SSP3.5 | From rock to sand: Processes and factors in sediment generation
From rock to sand: Processes and factors in sediment generation
Co-organized by GM5
Convener: Laura StutenbeckerECSECS | Co-conveners: Hilmar von Eynatten, Luca Caracciolo

Clastic sediment is the product of surficial weathering and erosion, which break down existing source rocks into individual minerals and rock fragments. The textural, mineralogical, and chemical analysis of clastic sediment can therefore help in (a) the identification of source rocks in general and quantification of source rock contribution in particular and (b) the weathering and erosional regimes that prevailed during sediment generation. Accordingly, sedimentary archives around the world are used to reconstruct past Earth surface processes and conditions. However, the link between original source rock composition and resulting sediment composition is often obscured by transport and depositional processes (e.g. abrasion, mixing, dissolution). This session invites contributions that study source rock-sediment relationships using experimental and modeling approaches, as well as observations in natural systems across all spatial and temporal scales including deep time. Topics could include (but are not limited to), petrographic and textural studies on rocks and sediments, fingerprinting and multi-proxy provenance studies, and studies on (paleo-)weathering and (paleo-)sediment fluxes.

Clastic sediment is the product of surficial weathering and erosion, which break down existing source rocks into individual minerals and rock fragments. The textural, mineralogical, and chemical analysis of clastic sediment can therefore help in (a) the identification of source rocks in general and quantification of source rock contribution in particular and (b) the weathering and erosional regimes that prevailed during sediment generation. Accordingly, sedimentary archives around the world are used to reconstruct past Earth surface processes and conditions. However, the link between original source rock composition and resulting sediment composition is often obscured by transport and depositional processes (e.g. abrasion, mixing, dissolution). This session invites contributions that study source rock-sediment relationships using experimental and modeling approaches, as well as observations in natural systems across all spatial and temporal scales including deep time. Topics could include (but are not limited to), petrographic and textural studies on rocks and sediments, fingerprinting and multi-proxy provenance studies, and studies on (paleo-)weathering and (paleo-)sediment fluxes.